Having been compared to Frank Zane from back in the day, IFBB Pro Santi Aragon is four weeks out from competing in Classic Physique at the Karina Nascimento Classic. His inspired guest-posing routine at the 2017 NPC Topamania Classic is his own take on Rusty Jeffers version as seen on YouTube. Take a look and let us know what you think on the MD forum.

Oftentimes, the masses can grumble in discontent about a state of affairs they are unhappy with for decades, yet nothing gets done until someone takes a stand and speaks out about changes that need to be made. For a very long time, bodybuilding fans have been disenchanted with the direction the sport and the top physiques have taken. Physique champions were once revered and admired for their mass, shape, proportion, and graceful posing presentation. As we know, as years went by, it began to be more about who was the biggest and most ripped, with other attributes trailing far behind in importance. Beauty and aesthetics were lost in the shuffle. Many fans simply lost interest in the sport altogether, while others remained, disgruntled with the current standards. Enter Arnold Schwarzenegger. Arnold is not only the most famous bodybuilder who has ever lived, he has also been a smashing success in the motion picture industry, government, and event promotion. Needless to say, when Arnold talks, and especially when he talks about bodybuilding, people listen. A year ago Arnold challenged judges to stop rewarding ugly bodies and return to seeking out the most perfect physiques. Arnold felt just as strongly that skilled posing presentation had become a lost art, and more recently was able to have the posing round reinstated as a judging round at his events, counting for a full one-third of the final score for each athlete. This interview with Arnold was one I have been waiting my entire career as a bodybuilding journalist to conduct, and it took place at the eleventh hour before this issue’s final deadline, as Arnold was fully invested in wrapping up his first season as the Boss on Celebrity Apprentice just before the 2016 Arnold Sports Festival took place in Columbus. As it turned out, it really wasn’t so much an interview as it was listening to Arnold’s passionate discourses about what needs to change in our sport, and how those changes will ultimately restore it to the glory days it once enjoyed. For anyone who doubts that Arnold really cares about bodybuilding after nearly 40 years away from the stage and his epic careers in film and politics, simply read on. It will become obvious very soon that Mr. Schwarzenegger not only still cares, but cares deeply enough to be the man to help bring the needed changes about.

Motivation is not a problem for me. I love to train, I have a burning desire to be the best bodybuilder in the world, and this is how I make my living as a professional athlete. That being said, I do get sick at times, and there are days when I haven’t had enough sleep due to traveling or other commitments. If I don’t feel I’m up to giving it my all, I take a day off. I would much rather wait an extra day and come back firing on all cylinders than go in there and have a bad workout. I think too many bodybuilders are afraid to ever take a day off because they get so locked into a schedule they made, that for some reason they feel like they have to stick to. Says who? It’s your body and your training, so you make the rules! I don’t really believe in “overtraining” as long you are eating and resting enough, but a lot of guys get mentally burnt out if they go to the gym more than four days a week. If that’s what happens to you, don’t feel like you need to train five or six days a week just because that’s what the pros do. Listen to your own body and train according to your own needs and situation, and then the days you “feel like shit and don’t feel like training” should be pretty rare.

A recent study of 44 men in the Netherlands enrolled in a 12-week weight-training program examined the effects of a protein and carbohydrate supplement given before bed. 9 The supplement contained 13.75 grams of casein hydrolysate, 13.75 grams of casein and 15 grams of carbohydrate. When compared to a non-caloric placebo drink, the protein drink showed remarkable results. The subjects fed the protein supplement achieved greater increases in strength and muscle mass. Unfortunately, the study didn’t include a group that received the drink at an alternative time of day. Perhaps the added protein in the daily total was additive to muscle growth, and limited muscle breakdown regardless of when it had been consumed? Nonetheless, according to a review by Dr. Mike Ormsbee, it seems that small meals of 150 calories before bed may improve muscle protein accretion, and even cardiometabolic health. 10

Although true research is sparse, both anatomical and biomechanical evidence supports the need for changing both hand and foot positions, as well as seat angles, on exercises throughout your training cycles. Also by creating these variations, support musculature (read: stabilizers) will improve as will your overall length and variety of muscle movement. More angles, more fibers, and longer ranges of motion, means greater strength. And one final thought; making simple adjustments adds tons of exercises to keep your workouts both challenging and stimulating, so it is less likely for you to overtrain and/or become bored.

With a few notable exceptions, many of whom write for T Nation, elite bodybuilders or physique monsters are the last people in the world genetically average people should ask for advice. They're more likely to get useful information from someone who's walked a mile in their shoes; a person who's personally experienced and often overcome many of the disadvantages of being genetically average when it comes to lifting and fitness.

Oh, you don't have shoulder problems? Don't wait to prevent them. Had I taken some preventive measures when I was benching monster weights, I'd have avoided the problem in the first place. In other words, this is essential if you're a serious lifter who benches a lot of weight. Start now. You may find that you can lift more as a result and even build more muscle because you're able to recruit more muscle fibers.

When targeting a muscle, keeping some level of tension throughout a set is a necessity. But by alternating legs, there's about a 2-3 second "rest" period on each leg, which allows blood flow to rush out of the targeted muscles, taking away both muscular emphasis and metabolic stress. Do this instead:

The reps per set are usually between 3 and 5. If you want or need to do more volume it makes more sense to do more sets and keep the reps the same. I usually program sets of 3 because it's a more complex movement. Doing 3 to 5 sets of 3 reps early in the week and then 1 or 2 heavier sets of 3 reps later in the week works well for the power clean.

Warnings: Consult your health care professional before use. This product is strictly intended for use by healthy persons 18 years of age or older. Each serving (1 scoop) contains 325 mg of caffeine. Do not use if you are pregnant, nursing or trying to become pregnant. Do not use if you are currently unaware of your health status or if you have a medical condition. Do not use if you are taking prescription or non-prescription medication of any kind. Do not use if you are prone to overheating or dehydration. Discontinue at least 2 weeks prior to surgery or if you experience rapid heartbeat, dizziness, severe headache or shortness of breath. This product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm. KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN

Since the CNS is being hammered here, there's no need to load this movement with near maximal weights. Start with bodyweight and slowly work up your loads while keeping an emphasis on movement quality. Go smoothly, move slowly, and hold little pink dumbbells in each hand. It'll build character, brah.

If you want to shape up your glutes and thighs, but you're short on time and space, this workout is for you. Most of us don't have all day to train, but this 15-minute session targets those major muscle groups quickly and effectively so you can get your workout out of the way and get back to your busy day!

Arnold’s early training wasn’t sufficiently high in volume. “For many years, I did only five sets of squats when I really should have been doing eight…[and] I did not put enough weight on the leg-press machine,” he said. “Once I realized my mistakes and corrected them, my thighs began to grow thick and massive.” At his peak, Arnold did at least 20 working sets for legs and took each set except his warm-ups to failure. This high-volume approach helped him put on the size and build the strength (his best was a 400-pound squat for eight reps) that turned around a weak bodypart.

Sometimes the gym just isn't possible. And other times you just don't want to go. This circuit is a perfect one to bang out at your place. Grab a Swiss ball, a set of dumbbells, and one of those pull up bars you can put in a doorway—you're all set. You don't need heavy weights or to spend hours in the gym to get jacked. This workout will do it.

The right fats are an essential component of the easy healthy bulk. Fats provide you with more than twice the calories per gram than protein or carbohydrates making it easier for you to hit your higher than normal calorie targets. Your body also creates hormones and other important signaling molecules essential for muscle growth and good health from fats. Avocados contain high levels of monounsaturated fats which a 2007 study published in Diabetes Care showed switching to a diet high in monounsaturated fats can prevent the redistribution body fat towards your abs. This will help you keep your midsection tight while your get bigger. Avocados are also a great way to get extra fiber in your diet without filling you up.

Researchers at the University College London sifted through 95 studies that monitored the fruit and vegetable consumption of almost 2 million people worldwide. The researchers looked for connections between fruit and veggie intake and cases of heart disease, stroke, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and premature death, and the scientists discovered that bumping up how many veggies and fruits you eat to 10 cups—or about 800 grams—a day could prevent approximately 7.8 million early deaths each year.

Eligibility: The Bodybuilding.com Twitter contest (the “Contest”) is open to Twitter members who are eighteen (18) years of age and older at the time of entry (“Contestant”). Membership and enrollment in Twitter are free. Contest is open only to legal residents of the United States and the District of Columbia (excluding Puerto Rico, Samoa, Guam, the US Virgin Islands and any other U.S. territories and protectorates, and individuals with an APO or FPO military address). Contestants may not be members of any guild, union, or other organization that may prohibit them from participating in this Contest and that would restrict, require due payment or otherwise have the right to oppose such Contestant’s participation in this Contest. Employees, contractors, members, and agents of Bodybuilding.com, LLC, Liberty Media Corporation (and companies owned by Liberty Media Corporation), and members of their immediate family (including spouses, parents, siblings, children, and their respective spouses) and persons living in the same household with any such individual are ineligible. In order to be eligible, Contestant must follow these Rules.

For home use, I have a lovely set of Rogue KB's (26, 35, 44, 53, 88) but I didn't really plan on taking any of those on a flight...I did some research and concluded that since people are allowed to take things like bowling balls, golf clubs, etc as checked luggage I could see no reason why a KB should be prohibited. Just in case it was dicey, I bought a cheapo 35-pounder via Craigslist to be my "airline" KB. My thinking on the weight was that most airlines have a weight limit of 50 pounds per checked bag, so the 35-pounder was the right size to include the weight of the bag and some padding around it while staying under the 50 pound limit. Although a 35 is light for me, it's still enough to do some snatches, and you can get creative with some weird exercises like halos and other stuff that I don't normally do.

You have weak links that stop you from progressing. For instance, weak rear shoulder muscles like infraspinatus and teres minor. These help the shoulders stay where they're supposed to be (pulled back). You might have a winged scapula, which means your shoulder blade is flaring out due to weak subscapularis or serratus anterior. A solution for the latter one is to do a lot of great pushups.

This is one of the very best bang-for-your-buck exercises for increasing strength and muscle mass while also maintaining and even enhancing mobility through the shoulders and back. As anyone who's tried to stretch a fully pumped muscle knows, this is not a comfortable feeling. That said, this isn't for beginners.

Y ou don’t grow muscles in the gym. The muscle-building process begins when you put the weights down and your recovery begins. The most important part of this recovery occurs during sleep. Groundbreaking new research by Dr. James Maas has demonstrated that athletes require even more sleep than sedentary people. Maas’ research showed that athletes who get more than nine hours of sleep daily improved their performance by up to 40 percent, reduced symptoms of overtraining, and improved their focus, concentration, and motivation to exercise.

If you get bored of traditional push-ups, then try incorporating some external resistance. Adding chains to your back or neck can increase the difficulty of the push-up. One great aspect of adding chains is that they allow the movement to get harder as you come higher off the floor and your arms extend. As you go down, the chain hits the floor and unravels, causing the weight to deload. As you begin to come up, the chain loads back up making the push-up harder as you rise. This is great for not only building rock-hard pecs but also great for attacking your triceps. Triceps take over much of the load as you begin to lock out your push-up (or bench press), so chains are great for targeting your triceps when doing push-ups.

Tuesday, February 28, 2017 - If you are riding a wave of high energy, you might be able to keep it going for a few more days. However, you could find yourself in over your head unless you are fully committed to maintaining your balance -- emotionally and physically -- moment by moment. Of course, you may have the time of your life while the spontaneous Aries Moon dances through your 5th House of Fun and Games, but overindulgence will lead to complications. Author Herbert Simon wrote, "One finds limits by pushing them."

There’s nothing wrong with counting reps and sets. However, it’s not a completely accurate gauge of your progress or a very targeted approach on its own. The reason for this is that when a program tells you that your target is eight to 12 reps, it’s with the assumption of a four-second movement. That’s including the top and bottom of the rep, during which there actually is no tension at all. This makes that target of eight to 12 reps a little less specific than it sounds. If you’re doing five-second reps or hree-second reps, your time under tension will be very different. Based on the stats I just gave you for time under tension, one guy could be doing 10 reps and stimulating functional hypertrophy, while another guy can be using the same weight and doing the same 10 reps but stimulating sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. In other words, total time under tension is a much more accurate means of targeting a specific result than counting reps. With constant tension timed sets, there is no locking out at the top or bottom of the movement—it is constant tension, and this has a benefit beyond accuracy; it builds up a lot of metabolic by-products, such as lactic acid, which are essential for myofibrillar cellular swelling and satellite cell signaling.

All you need is a set of bands and a power rack. Choose a band tension that'll allow you to handle around 15-20% over your max back squat at the top. If your max squat is 425, use a band tension that'll allow you to squat between 490 and 510. It doesn't have to be exact. Squats with reverse bands can be trained with a variety of reps, anywhere between 1-10 reps.

Think about what you spend each year on gym memberships and the time and money spent driving there and back. That’s more than enough to put toward a decent home gym. Working out from home can be motivating, but it’s also time and money saving. New baby? Train during naps. Tight schedule? It’s a short commute. You may have to work on your state of mind and focus when it comes to avoiding distraction, but I assure you, with the right gear, a small yet effective home gym can easily become a reality. There’s a plethora of quality stuff out there, and these are just five items that stuck out as affordable and user-friendly and deliver a solid well-rounded workout. It would be nice if we all had a power rack and a cable station in our living room, but let’s be realistic. These items are effective, inexpensive, and space saving alternatives for when life gets in the way of that trip to the gym.

Everyone is waiting for stem cells to advance to the point where we can take an injection and suddenly have the midsection of a young Frank Zane. Until that happens, the alternative is fresh Brassica vegetables, like Chinese cabbage, sprouts, cress, broccoli, and cauliflower. These vegetables contain glucosinolates, which, when lightly cooked, convert into a substance called sulforaphane. Molecular biologists at the Second University of Naples, found that small amounts of sulforaphane— about what you get from a serving or two of cabbage stimulate the development and protection of stem cells, potentially improving recovery and growth in hard-training athletes. Brassica vegetables are also low in calories, high in fiber, and help balance testosterone and estrogen levels.

Eggs have been both glorified and scolded over the years leaving consumers, including athletes, hesitant to add whole eggs into their regular diet. The egg white, also known as the albumin, is a complete protein source con- taining all the essential amino acids; however, it is the yolk that tends to scare people away from eggs. The fatty acids found in the yolk are primarily oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat, while the remaining fatty acids are sat- urated fat and polyunsaturated fat. Other than fat, there are two other noteworthy components of egg yolks. Firstly, egg yolks are very rich in choline, a nutrient associated with several\benefits, including cognitive health. Secondly, although egg yolks do not provide much protein, yolks are enriched with the essential amino acid leucine—the primary activator of muscle protein synthesis. Given the large percentage of fatty acids and cholesterol in the egg yolk, whole-egg con- sumption has been suggested to promote cardiovascular disease; however, randomized controlled trials comparing diets with or without whole eggs have not found an asso- ciation between whole-egg consumption and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.